Our program director, Nathan Shedroff, participated in a forum organized by Swissnex San Francisco and moderated by Helen Walters of Business Week last Monday, March 8th, to discuss the role of design in business. The video is below, along with a description of the event. Enjoy!

A synopsis of the event from Swissnex:

Design and business have traditionally made uneasy bedfellows, with practitioners of each eyeing each other suspiciously. But in recent years, some companies have demonstrated huge success by adopting a design-savvy approach. That's led to a resurgence of interest in design as business strategy. There remains little agreement on the best policies, structures, or principles for its smart adoption and execution, however.

This panel, a continuation of swissnex San Francisco's series on innovation, brings together those working on every side of the equation, from individuals implementing design within large corporations, to consultants aiming to bring an objective eye to their clients' problems, to educators working to shape the future discussion.

With moderator Helen Walters, editor of innovation and design at Bloomberg/BusinessWeek; Helmut Traitler, V.P. of Innovation Partnerships at NESTEC Ltd., in Vevey, Switzerland; Udaya Patnaik, Jump founder and principal; Nathan Shedroff, chair of the MBA in Design Strategy at California College of the Arts; and Mary Jo Cook, Vice President of Discovery and Design for Clorox.

We have a bunch of events coming up through our MBA in Design Strategy program in the next two months, so here's a list in advance. We'll post dedicated announcements as the dates draw closer. Hope to see you all at all these events!

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Lecture by the Reverend Shane McCraig
Presented as part of CCA's Graduate Studies Lecture Series
Thursday, April 1, 2010, 7 pm
Timken Auditorium, CCA SF Campus
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The Reverend Shane McCraig has toured the world unlocking the mysteries of design, reframing what it means to a designer, and saving young designers from essential business practices that can strip great design of its soul.

Through invigorating and inspired storytelling, the Reverend reveals the emotive power of playfulness in the design process and uncovers how this process makes the connection between seemingly illogical product inspiration and the success that is found in everything from pet rocks and hula hoops to cola bottles and vacuum cleaners.

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Fun&Play@Work
Saturday, April 3, 2010, 8:30 - 10:00pm
Timken Auditorium, CCA SF Campus
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MBA in Design Strategy students perform scenarios from their Leadership in Design course, demonstrating how specific companies can integrate play into their strategies to promote better results.

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DMBA Venture Night
Saturday May 1, 2010, Time TBD
Timken Auditorium, CCA SF Campus
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The first graduates of the MBA in Design Strategy program showcase their venture projects. Some are group ventures and others are individual, but all seek to make changes in the world that are sustainable, meaningful, and profitable.

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Graduate Thesis Events
Exhibition: May 6-13, 10 am-7 pm daily
Design MBA Studio, CCA SF Campus
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The best work of CCA's graduate class of 2010, featuring works in all media, from painting to sculpture, photography, installation, media arts, design strategy, and more.

The MBA in Design Strategy proudly invites you to its 2010 Venture Show showcasing the work of our pioneering graduates. This is an important event for us and we hope to see many of you there!

Saturday 1 May 2010
7-10 pm
Timken Lecture Hall
San Francisco Campus

RSVP: nkakone [at] cca.edu
www.designmba.org